A Damon And Elena Story
by loki-dokey
Summary: Stefan left Mystic Falls suddenly and has been gone for 2 months.  Elena feels alone and unloved by Stefan and can't believe he left without saying goodbye.  Of course, Damon takes the opportunity...  THIS IS NOT A CARRY ON OF THE TV SHOW, IT IS RANDOM


**A DAMON AND ELENA STORY**

**CHAPTER 1**

The doorbell rang. Sighing, I pushed myself up from the sofa and placed my diary on the table. On my way to the door, it rang again.

"Ok ok, I'm coming!" I said angrily, and wrenched open the oak door. It was Damon.

"Damon, what do you want," I said, exasperated. I really didn't want to deal with whatever crap he was intending to say right now.

"I was coming to see if you were ok," he said calmly.

"Pfft. Like you really care," I tried to shut the door in his face, but his strong hand stopped me easily. "I really don't feel like talking to you." I let go of the door and it swung open again.

"Look, Elena. I can't bring Stefan back. It was his choice to leave. There's nothing neither you nor I can do anymore. I tried to keep him here. For you. I know how much you love him." I looked back in his eyes. He was still standing outside, although he was perfectly able of walking through the doorframe. I wasn't going to back down this easy.

"Sure, of course you did it for me. Damon, all you care about is yourself and nobody else. And as for Stefan? Yes, I loved him. But not anymore. He left me, which just goes to show how much HE loved ME, doesn't it?" I stormed off into the living room, and he followed me without a word. I turned around and faced him.

"Elena. I do care about other people than myself actually. In case you haven't noticed, I care about you quite a lot." His faced weakened from its usual strong, dangerousness to a look of truth and realisation. I didn't want to listen to this. Not now.

"Elena. You know this. You've always known. But I couldn't do anything about it because Stefan was there first. I'm sorry if I ever hurt you or did anything to hurt people you love. You don't know how hard it is for me to say that." I stared at him. His face looked like that of a small boy confessing something.

"Damon, I…" I began, but he cut me short.

"I know. You don't feel the same way. But I couldn't leave you without telling you." His last sentence crushed me more than I'd expected.

"You're…leaving?"

"Yes. I think it's best if you go back to how your life was before you met me or Stefan. You can live a normal life."

"No! Damon, your doing exactly what Stefan did to me! I can't lose you!"

"At least I told you how I felt about you before I left you, unlike Stefan. I'm sorry Elena. I'll always love you."

He stepped forward and placed his lips on my forehead. He then looked into my eyes.

"Goodbye Elena." He turned on his heel and began to leave my house forever. Tears filled my eyes. The feelings for Damon I had tried to suppress consumed me. I loved him. I always had. Secretly. Even when I was with Stefan, I had loved Damon. I couldn't let him walk out of my life like Stefan. I ran after him.

"Damon! Wait!" I yelled, and he turned around, slightly bewildered. I threw my arms around him and pressed my lips to his. He was taken aback for a moment, but as realisation set in he softened and slid his arms around me. He kissed me back, gently but with a lot of passion. My breathing got heavier and so did his. As we kissed we moved upstairs, and the kissing was more passionate than ever by the time we fell softly onto my bed. My hands twisted in his hair and he pulled off his shirt. I tugged off my t-shirt at the same time and turned myself over so he was on top of me. He began kissing my cheek, my neck, my chest, my stomach. It felt so good. He pulled off my jeans and then his pants. He came back to my lips and kissed me again. I rolled over on top of him and began kissing him the same way he had kissed me. I began with his neck, his chest, his toned and muscular stomach. He had an amazing physique. I crawled up to his lips again and again we rolled back over. He pulled off his boxers and I pulled off my knickers. We crawled under the covers and made love. It was the best sex I've ever had. Better than Stefan even. Finally we both rolled onto our backs and lay staring at the ceiling breathing heavily. Neither of us spoke for about two minutes until Damon eventually breathed "wow…" I giggled and rolled on my side, propping myself up on my elbow. He did the same. We stared into each others eyes for what seemed like an age. Then I snuggled close to him and he stroked my hair.

"I never wanted to leave, you know. But I felt as though I had to. I thought there was nothing left for me here. I thought you didn't love me," he said quietly.

"Damon, I've always loved you. Even though you have done some stupid evil things in your past I can't help myself." He laughed and kissed the top of my head. Suddenly I heard the door slam downstairs.

"Oh that's probably Jeremy," I sighed.

"It's not Jeremy. Argh, he has to ruin everything!" Damon growled and stared at the door. I stared but there was no one there in the hallway. I blinked. When my eyes opened someone was in the doorway. It was Stefan.

It was Stefan.

**CHAPTER 2**

He stared at us with an intensity that shook me to the bone. Damon felt me shiver and tightened his grip on me. My anger towards Stefan flared up again and I glared at him. But at the same time I couldn't help but feel a twinge of happiness at the fact that he was here again in my life. But the desertion, the abandonment consumed me once more and I continued to glare at him. But as projected my anger out as hard as I could to him, I couldn't help but notice that he was different. Something about him was – off. It wasn't in his stance or his face, but in his eyes. His eyes had changed from being light and gentle to dark and dangerous. They reminded me of…Damon's eyes. I was scared of him. I tensed and Damon again squeezed me tighter. His stare was also fixed on Stefan. Stefan was glancing between us, obviously taking in the scene before him. His expression went from shock to realisation to sadness extremely quickly, but I saw all the emotions. His face softened a fraction but his eyes and mouth stayed tense, his thick dark eyebrows low over his eyes.

"Stefan…" I managed to choke out finally. He looked at me, and I recoiled a little at the eyes again. What had happened to him?

"Damon...what…? How could you do this to me?" Stefan was looking intently at his brother now. I didn't understand anything. I broke away from Damon and held the covers close to me, although both of them had seen me naked before. But I decided this was not the time to let them see that again.

"Guys, what's going on?" I was truly puzzled now. I looked back at Damon. He seemed almost – and I mean ALMOST – sheepish. But apart from that he looked angry, and maybe I saw a hint of smugness cross his face at the same time.

"Stefan," I said glancing back at him. "Where were you? Why did you leave me?" I nearly had tears in my eyes as I recollected the moment when I discovered that Stefan was gone – apparently – for good. The hurt, the anger, the confusion. I needed answers. And I needed them now.

Damon sat up in bed and pulled on his pants. He stood up and squared himself up to Stefan.

"What are you doing here, Stefan?" He took a step closer to his brother.

"Well Damon, I was about to ask you the exact same question." Stefan also took a step forward. And suddenly the skin beneath Stefan's eyes darkened and his eyes reddened. His face turned from human to vampire and I gasped. He looked…evil. I gathered all my courage and ran – covers still wrapped around me – between them. I put myself facing Stefan and shook slightly as I made eye contact. I put all my emotions into my stare.

"Stop. I need to know everything. Why you left me. Why you're so angry at Damon when he has every right to be here as he actually cares about me. Unlike you." I seemed to spit the last words. I knew it sounded harsh but I didn't care since he was the one who had abandoned me.

"I guess Damon left out some important details as to why I left Elena?" Stefan's face turned human again but he was frowning. His eyes were going wild. They looked depraved. They looked…hungry. Realisation hit me. As I stepped back I felt Damon behind me and he put his hands on my shoulders. I gasped and shook. Stefan's eyes. They looked like Damon's eyes. Damon fed off of people. And now, I think Stefan did too.

"Oh my…" I brushed Damon off and backed away from them slowly. "Stefan…what…What have you done?" I was shivering with fear. This was not the Stefan I used to know. This Stefan was full of malice and I was frightened. I was more frightened than I had been when I had discovered that he and Damon were both vampires. But then I knew I could trust him. Then he didn't feed off of people. Then he was gentle, controlled. And now? Now he was dark and dangerous. Like Damon. But Damon had learnt to control his urge for human blood. Stefan however was obviously finding it difficult since his recent…slip-up.

"Elena I…" Stefan looked pained. "I guess you've worked it out, huh?" He took a step towards me but Damon quickly blocked his path. All I could see was Damon's back and Stefan peering round his shoulder at me.

"Elena, let me explain. Let me tell you everything. But first, why don't you ask Damon what he hasn't told you." Stefan grabbed his brother's shoulders and spun him around. He pushed Damon forwards and I looked into his eyes.

"Elena…I'm sorry. I should have told you. I knew everything about what Stefan had done. And he told me to tell you what had happened, and to tell you he was sorry and he loved you." Damon also looked pained as he finished off his last sentence. He turned to Stefan.

"There, happy now?" He went to walk away but I grabbed his shoulder – hard I might add.

"Wait, you knew this and you didn't tell me? You let me believe that Stefan left without saying a word? Damon, how could you? Everything you said before…" He whipped around.

"Ok I admit that some of it was a lie. But Elena, what I said about the way I feel about you? That was the truth. I love you and I can't ever change that. I thought that with Stefan gone that you and I could – have a chance together. I didn't tell you what Stefan said because I knew you would dwell on it and moan and beg me to bring him back. All I wanted was a chance to show you…how much you mean to me," Damon looked so sincere and so truthful that I melted. I yearned to throw my arms around him and kiss him but that would have been slightly awkward with Stefan in the room. So instead I chose to smile and say,

"Damon, I love you." Stefan stiffened as the words left my lips. His expression sank and I was sure I saw tears in his dark eyes.

"Stefan, I'm so sorry. But with you gone all this time it's given me a chance to think about how I feel and what I really want. And I…well…what I want is…Damon…" I said the last sentence in my head as not to hurt him more than I already had.

"Well, *cough*, I guess I should *cough* tell you everything, huh?" He turned to go out of the room. "I'll let you…get dressed first. I'll be in the living room." He walked out of the door and I listened to him go down the stairs. Damon turned to look at me.

"Elena, are you sure you want to hear what he had to say? I mean, you might not want to hear it…" He picked up his shirt from the floor.

"Why? I mean I know what he's done. What could possibly make it worse?" I also leaned down and snatched up my tee-shirt. Damon coughed and stayed silent. I thought back to what he had said to me before, about wanting us to have a chance together. I walked towards him, and he was leaning over picking up his socks facing away from me. I ran my hands up his sides and then down the centre of his back. He stood up straight, turned and looked down at me. I pulled his face down to mine and turned it so my mouth was at his ear.

"You're the one I want Damon," I whispered softly. He slowly turned his face round to look at me. He pressed his lips ever so gently against mine and it was the sweetest most sentimental kiss we had ever shared. We broke apart slowly and gazed into each others eyes. I knew Stefan was downstairs but right now I didn't care. Right now all I wanted was Damon. I held his face in my palms and kissed him again.

"I think…we should…get downstairs…" I said, quite out of breath when we finally broke apart after about four minutes of passionately making out. "I'm sure Stefan knows it doesn't take this long for people to get dressed." He nodded and we made our way to the living room. Stefan was on the sofa, he looked up as we entered the room and he looked upset. Then I blushed immensely as I remembered that vampires have inexplicably incredible hearing and that Stefan must have heard all the whispering. I could have kicked myself. I manoeuvred myself around the sofa and sat on the armchair.

"Stefan, I want you to tell me everything." Damon perched himself on the arm of my chair and looked intently at his brother. It was as if he was protecting me from Stefan, making sure that if Stefan made any kind of move towards me he'd make sure nothing happened. I trusted him.

"Well Elena, if you want to know everything…Then I'm ready for you to let Damon kill me when it's over." I was stunned at this.

"Why would I want to set Damon on you? Stefan….what have you done?"

**CHAPTER 3**

Stefan looked at the floor guiltily.

"Go on Stefan, explain yourself," Damon pressed. Stefan looked up at him angrily.

"You already know everything." He looked back at me. "Elena, I'm so sorry I left you. I asked Damon to tell you everything and maybe if he had…" he glared up at Damon with a rage that petrified me. "Maybe if he had told you then I wouldn't be here explaining myself, I wouldn't have walked in on you two upstairs, and possibly we'd still be together…" I knew he was right. If Damon had told me that Stefan had said he loved me and he was sorry about whatever he had done – which, I still wasn't sure I wanted to hear – then maybe Stefan and I would have kissed the moment we saw each other again, and we would be united at last. But now, after everything that had happened with Damon, all my love was for him. Stefan moved himself forward on the sofa and placed his arms on his knees and clasped his hands together. I knew that what I was about to hear wasn't going to be good or easy.

"Elena, are you sure you want to hear my story?" I nodded.

"Well…" And his story began.

I lay on my bed staring at the blank ceiling. Boredom was something I had grown used to over the last one hundred and forty five years. I urged to see Elena but she was off shopping with Bonnie and Caroline. I had no idea where Damon was though. He just came and went from the house whenever it took his fancy. Although over the past few months of having my brother back in my life I had grown closer to him than I had since we'd been vampires. To be honest, I had been enjoying our friendship. Suddenly, I sensed someone in the house. I sat up silently and immediately. It was probably Damon, or possibly Elena, but something wasn't right. I silently moved swiftly to the top of the staircase and looked down along the hallway and at the hallway below. No sign of anyone. I shot down the stairs and stood in the centre of the hall. Glancing around I took in everything but nothing looked out of place. As I took a step to check the kitchen someone grabbed me from behind and growled. We fell to the floor and my attacker was on top of me. I was about to strike back until I took in the appearance of the vampire that had brought me down. Laughing I sat up and Lexi – my oldest vampire friend – smiled at me.

"Hey Stefan, how you been?" she said with a smirk.

"Lexi, I've missed you," and I threw my arms around her.

"I've missed you too honey!" and she squeezed me as tight as she could, nearly pushing all the breath out of me. I patted her back and she was on her feet in a blink. She held out her pale hand and pulled me up.

"How come I've never met Lexi before? I mean if she's your best friend then surely you should meet up more often?" I quizzed. I knew I should have let him carry on but I was curious.

"Lexi is a traveller – she moves around a lot. She visits when she can, which isn't very often. We used to travel together, but something's came up and we chose to go our separate ways." I nodded and he carried on.

"So. Dish. What's going on in the life of Stefan Salvatore?" She smiled up at me as I passed her a mug of coffee.

"Nothing that could compare to what's going on in the life of Lexi Winston," I said.

"Well we all know that no ones life is as interesting as mine but still, let's hear it. How are you?" I wrapped my hands around my coffee mug.

"Life's good. You know…I've met a girl." She squealed and grabbed my hand. I smiled bashfully.

"Finally! Oh thank heavens! I was beginning to think you'd decided to stay single for EVER!" She was getting excited now. "Well, what's her name? What's she like?" She was literally jumping around on her chair.

"Her name is Elena. And she is…perfect. She's warm and gentle and she makes me feel…well…when I'm with her I forget what I really am."

**CHAPTER 4**

I blushed deeply. What Stefan had told Lexi had melted away some of the anger that I felt towards him. I leant forward and placed my hand on his knee. Damon shuffled uncomfortably on the arm of the chair.

"Stefan, I…never knew you felt that way before," I said softly. He looked deep into my eyes. Suddenly I felt a twinge of guilt. Stefan still loved me and had recently walked in on me with his brother. It really hit me that if Damon _had _told me all this and that Stefan still loved me that I would never have gotten with Damon at all – even though my feelings towards Damon probably wouldn't have changed. I was beginning to become confused and uncomfortable myself. Part of me knew that I still loved Stefan. The other part knew that I loved Damon. It was like a war was going on inside me.

"Well I guess it doesn't really make much of a difference now, does it? Since obviously my brother satisfies you enough." I was taken aback by his sudden change of attitude. He was on his feet, his eyes boring hatred into Damon. Damon leant back slightly and smirked.

"Well maybe if you'd told her that before-" Damon began, but Stefan roared with rage and threw himself at his brother. He smashed him against the wall and had his hands at Damon's collar.

"THAT WAS YOUR JOB! I told you to tell her that after I'd gone but instead you let Elena believe that I'd gone because I didn't love her anymore. And then I suppose you used her ignorance to your advantage, hm? Well are you satisfied? Did you get what you wanted?" He had Damon by the throat now and I was terrified. I couldn't move and I knew that if I could there wouldn't be much I could do anyway.

"Stefan don't! Please, stop it!" Stefan looked back at me with a look of pure misery. I knew what he was thinking. He knew that there was nothing he could do, not now. Damon and I had happened and that was that. But I was beginning to want Stefan again. My feelings for him that had been replaced by anger, sadness and abandonment were slowly turning back again. Oh no, I can't go through that again, I thought to myself. This was so like me – when I had one brother I wanted the other.

"Look, Elena. I…I can't do this. Not now. Maybe tomorrow or something we can carry this little story on. I know I didn't get to say much, but right now I have to go and fe- …I have to go and do something." And without giving me a chance to say a word he was gone. Damon was still standing where Stefan had left him, rubbing his neck.

"Damon, you do know that you should have told me, don't you?" I stood up and walked over to him.

"Yes, I know. But I told you why I didn't." He put his hands on my sides.

"Wasn't that a bit selfish though?" He nodded.

"But that's what I am. A selfish, dangerous, cocky vampire. Just how you like it," he said with a grin.

"That may have an edge of truth about it…" I leant up and planted a kiss on his lips. Five minutes later we broke apart. He held me in his arms and we hugged for ages. I didn't want to let go. But I knew that at some point I had to.

**CHAPTER 5**

"Damon, Aunt Jenna will be back soon from her trip. How about helping me with dinner?" Aunt Jenna was going to be hungry after her journey home. She'd been away to see some of her friends in San Francisco over the weekend and had hesitantly left the house under the care of Jeremy and I.

"Sure, why not." And we both made our way to the kitchen. "So, what are we having?" I thought for a moment.

"Erm, I think maybe spaghetti Bolognese? You can start by chopping onions," I said, throwing a couple to him from the bottom of the fridge. He caught them with ease.

"So where's the chopping board?" I pointed him in the right direction and turned to put the defrosted mince in the frying pan. As I mashed it down I turned and looked at Damon. He was busy chopping onions. For a split second I forgot what he was. He looked so normal. This was a side of Damon that I had hardly ever seen before and this was the side of Damon that I loved the most. He glanced up and noticed me staring at him. He smiled.

"What are you looking at?" he asked. I blushed.

"Nothing…" And I turned and continued cooking the mince. Soon the smell filled the room and my mouth watered.

"Mmm, smells pretty damn good," I heard a voice say from behind me. I looked around and saw Aunt Jenna in the doorway.

"Oh hey! I didn't hear you come in," I dropped the spatula and gave her a hug. "How was San Francisco?" She looked sort of guilty.

"Well, let's just say after a few drinks I was back to my old college ways again. Not exactly proud of myself. But apart from that it was fun. How was your weekend, hmm?" She looked past me at Damon. I followed her gaze and he looked back at the peppers he was now cutting with a smile still spread across his face.

"It's been…interesting…" I looked back at Aunt Jenna.

"It has now, has it? She looked back at Damon. "Hey, you look like a strong guy. Could you possibly lug my suitcases upstairs? It's just I'm kinda pooped." She smiled innocently and he put down the knife.

"Sure thing Jenna," and he went out into the hall. Literally the moment he was gone she grabbed me and looked me dead in the eyes.

"You and Damon? Since when? Oh my, honey, seriously I thought you'd never get over Stefan but thank goodness you have! Wow, you've landed a good'un there, I'll say! He's hot!" I cringed.

"Jeez Aunt Jenna!" I knew he'd heard all this and I knew that a smug smile would be spread across his face. "Can't you be less…you? For at least an evening. Please?" She hushed up but a huge grin was slapped on her face. Damon came back in and sure enough, there it was. A smug grin just for me. I pushed him back out into the hallway.

"Do I sense a little smugness Damon?" I looked at him.

"Your Aunt is very…gracious, about me. I'm not smug…much," he smiled down at me.

"Hey guys? Have I got to do this dinner all by myself now? Or are you both gonna just carry on smooching in the hallway?" I flushed deep red.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry, she's just so…argh." I put my hands over my face. He pulled my hands away.

"Come on, she could be worse." I looked up at him in disbelief.

"Really? Can you get worse than her?" He laughed quietly.  
"I've met worse, trust me." He took my hand and we walked back into the kitchen.

After dinner I walked him to the front door.

"I am so sorry about her." I blushed for about the hundredth time that evening.

"Pfft, don't worry about it. Remember, I've met worse." He laughed, leant down and kissed my forehead.

"Today was…fun," he smirked, and picked up his jacket.

"Yeah, it was, apart from the whole thing with Stefan. We've upset him Damon. And I hate that." I helped him pull his jacket over his shoulders.

"Yeah well didn't he upset you when he left?" He opened the door and turned to look back at me.

"Well remember if you had told me I wouldn't have been as upset!" He said nothing, but stepped forward again and pressed his lips against mine.

"Yes, well remember, if I had told you then you and I probably wouldn't have happened now, would we?"

"I guess…" And he was gone. One moment I was staring into his eyes, the next moment I was staring at the door.

**CHAPTER 6**

I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling. Today had been…"fun", as Damon had put it, but fun all apart from Stefan's sudden reappearance at the completely wrong moment. It wasn't that I wasn't a little happy to see him again, I was. But the fact that he came back just after Damon and I had had…you know. And the fact that he'd fed on human blood. What had swayed him to the dark side? Lexi? I had to know. But he had gone when he'd begun to tell me what had happened. And who had he killed? It couldn't have been someone close to me, I would have noticed if they were gone for a month without calling me. Suddenly, the window blew open. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Jeez…" I muttered, recovering. I got up and shut them again, putting the latch on. When I turned around, I nearly screamed. Stefan was standing behind me.

"Stefan! You scared me! What the hell?" I breathed and moved around him.

"Sorry, that wasn't my intention," he replied honestly. I looked at him from across the room. It wasn't just his eyes that had changed I realised, it was the way he was standing. He was poised as though ready for anything out of the ordinary. His eyes took in everything about the room. He was tense.

"Stefan, why are you here?" I asked quietly, looking at the floor. He relaxed slightly, walked over to my bed and sat down.

"I thought it would be easier to talk to you…if…Damon wasn't here." He looked up at me, his eyes still filled to the brim with the sorrow I had seen earlier.

"Stefan…you have to tell me now. I need to know what you've done." I sat down next to him.

"Ok, here goes…" and his story began again... -

Lexi looked at me sternly.

"Stefan, we've got to go and do something! I have to go tomorrow and we need to do something fun!" She grabbed my hands as she begged me. I decided to give in.

"Ok, ok. So what are we going to do?" A huge smile broke across her face.

"I have an idea," and she walked over to her bag and zipped it open. After a few seconds she pulled out three paintball guns.

"Paintballing? Lexi, you're too cool, you know that?" She leaped gracefully across the room in a flash.

"I know how much you loved it back in '88, and I came across a couple going cheap in China when I was there. I thought "what the heck?" and bought them." She put one in my hands.

"Wait, why are there three? I thought you didn't like Damon?" She laughed out loud.

"Stefan, it's not for Damon, it's for Michael! You thought I came without him?" Of course, Michael. How could I have forgotten Michael?

-"Who's Michael?" I inquired.

"Michael's Lexi's husband. They got married way back before I was even born. They're tight as anything. Nothing has ever come between them." He looked sadly at the floor. I knew he was thing about us.

"Stefan. I'm so sorry to have hurt you. Damon and I…I'm so sorry." Tears started spilling down my cheeks.

"No, Elena. I'm sorry. I left you alone and I'm sorry. If I hadn't…hadn't…done what I did, you and I would still be together…" He seemed so pained and so heartbroken that I put my head on his shoulder and wrapped my arms around him.

"Shall I carry on?"

"Yes." -

"Michael's out hunting right now, but he'll be back soon." She poured paintballs into her gun. "Lock and load, Stefan," and she threw me a packet of yellow paintballs. I caught them and filled my gun with the colourful ammunition.

"Well this looks like fun, mind if I join you?" I whisked around at the familiar voice of my brother. Damon was walking towards us with a smile on his face. Lexi barely even looked up at him.

"Why hello there Lexi, long time no see," he said with a smirk. He walked around me and knelt down beside her. "But it doesn't look like you're too happy to see me." She stood up and so did he.

"When am I ever happy to see you Damon?" She picked up her paintball gun and walked away from him.

"Oh, well that's a damn shame. You know that hurts me," he put his hand on his heart, "right here." He smirked again and looked at me.

"Quit the sarcasm Damon," she sighed.

"Sarcasm? How could you even suggest that? That's mean," he was still smiling. Suddenly Lexi was in front of him and glaring at him.

"Oh, _I'm_ mean? That's a little hypocritical don't you think?" She was older than him, therefore stronger, and he seemed to retract a little at her stern words.

"Ok, ok. Calm down Lexi," he said smoothly. "Now, can I play or not," he asked, trying to look innocent.

"Of course you can Damon," she replied. I was taken aback. Why was she letting Damon play when she despised him?

"As long as you don't mind being my primary target," she added and walked out into the hallway. I laughed as he recoiled a little, but he composed himself.

"Well, whatever. You know how much I love paintballing. And it's not like I'm not fast." He grabbed another paintball gun from her bag. "She'll have to be able to aim pretty good if she wants to get me." He held the gun at me. "And I wonder who _my_ primary target will be…" he sneered. He stared into my eyes as he walked past.

"Great…" I muttered. I followed Damon out to the front lawn. Lexi stood with Michael directly ahead of us. Their rings shone like ours in the bright sunlight. They had been given them by a band of travelling vampires back in 1801. Damon walked up to Michael and they hugged.

"How are you, buddy? It's great to see you," Michael laughed and patted Damon's back.

"I'm good, man. It's great to see you too." Damon was reunited with one of his best friends too. Although Lexi and Damon hated each other with a passion, Michael and Damon got on scarily well. I, on the other hand, didn't get on so well with him.

"Michael, it's good to see you again," I said as I shook his hand.

"You too, Stefan." He coughed and didn't look me in the eye.

- "How come you guys are all like that? I mean, Damon and Lexi, you and Michael?" I asked. Stefan laughed.

"It's nothing terrible, Elena. It's just a personality clash thing. Damon and Lexi are completely different. Lexi is warm and friendly, whereas Damon is…well, Damon. However, Michael's not like Damon, but they just seem to mesh. But Michael and I just don't seem to. See, there's nothing awful that keeps us from all being friends." I nodded and he continued. -

We entered the forest at different points and ran. I looked for a place to hide and came across a huge oak tree that had hollowed out at the bottom. I threw myself inside and peered around the corners. Not a sign of anyone. The forest was still. I held my paintball gun tightly to my chest. Suddenly, I saw Lexi creeping through the trees about 50m in front of me. I held my breath. She hadn't seen me. Yet. I locked my gun into shooting position and moved forward silently, slowly. She hadn't heard me yet either. I moved through the undergrowth, creeping as low as I could. I realised that paintballing was similar to hunting. Creeping slowly so the prey wouldn't hear you, lowering your body so they can't see you… This was fun. Lexi was looking around frantically, and she darted against a tree. She held her gun ready to shoot anyone she saw and I took aim. I pressed my finger down slowly and fired. She moved out of the way just before the paintball hit her stomach. It hit the tree and exploded in a yellow shower. She glared at me through the trees before I'd even had time to hide. I knew she was coming for me now. I ran full pelt through the forest with paintballs flying past me.

"Oh Stefan, you've done it now," she yelled from behind me. I laughed and continued running until I saw Damon crouched low by a rock. I skidded to a halt and he looked directly at me. He smiled and raised his gun. The paintball missed me by a fraction as I began to move out of the way. He hadn't got me. But, unfortunately for Damon, the paintball had hit Lexi in the face.

"Ah, um, I…Oh dear," Damon said sheepishly, and began to back away slowly. Lexi was growling.

"Oh Damon. My dear, dear Damon. You're dead." And her face morphed into the vampire she was. Damon's face whitened and he stepped back.

"Oh, come on Lexi, I didn't aim at you! I was going for my brother…" But she wasn't listening. She had Damon by the collar and threw him against a tree. Of course he wasn't hurt but she was enjoying it all the same. He sprang up and his face morphed too.

"Guys, come off it. We were supposed to be having fun, not fighting." I moaned. They did this all the time, and it was beginning to get annoying. "We've only just started!" Lexi looked at me and her face reverted back to normal.

"Sorry Stefan. It's just he irritates me so much!" She turned back to Damon. "Watch yourself. Next time I won't back down." Suddenly a scream erupted somewhere in the forest. We all turned in the direction that the noise came from. With that we were all running to the noises source. After about 2 minutes of sprinting we had covered two miles. We were about 50m from the main road that ran through Mystic Falls, and we came across the screamer. It was a small girl, about four years old. She was screaming at a man crouching over a body of woman.

"Michael! What are you doing? We're supposed to be playing a game, not having lunch," Lexi joked. I growled.  
"Lexi! You can't joke about this! We're trying to keep a low profile here, you know!" She looked at me apologetically. "Sorry honey. Michael! Stop!" And she ran to him. The little girl screamed again as Lexi's thirst took her over and she began to feed too. Damon sighed beside me.

"What are we gonna do about the girl?" he asked. Michael looked back.

"I know…" he said cunningly and threw himself at her. I roared and jumped at him. I threw him off but he'd already sunk his teeth in. The girl's blood…it got on my mouth and… -

I gasped and moved away from him. "Stefan…you didn't…Oh my God, you killed that little girl!" He looked at me apologetically and his face filled with guilt.  
"Elena, the pull of human blood is very strong. I couldn't resist, it was too much…" He move closer but I sprang up and backed against the wall.

"Stefan…I don't…I think I'm going to be sick…" I felt ill thinking about that poor little girl…having her blood drained from her body… "Stefan…get out. I…I can't hear anymore…Not now." He nodded and got up. I couldn't look him in the eye.

"Elena. You told me to tell you everything. I told you that you might not like what you hear. But you wanted me to tell you anyway. All I can say is I'm sorry." And with that he was gone. Tears poured down my face. The thought of the little girl made my stomach churn. How could he…I fell onto my bed and sobbed. I sobbed for hours. I could never look at Stefan the same way again. But it struck me then that Damon had probably killed children too. I tried not to think about it. I knew it was the only way they could survive, but the thought was too horrible, too much…And I fell into a tense and stressful sleep…

**CHAPTER 7**

I woke up slowly the next morning. My eyes were thick with sleep from the dried tears. I rubbed my eyes hard and blinked them open. The sun was streaming in through the open window. I didn't want to think about what I had heard last night. I tried to blank it out. Looking at the clock on the wall I saw it was 9.10am, and I could hear Aunt Jenna downstairs. Suddenly my phone buzzed with a text. I picked it up and saw it was from Damon.

_Are you busy today? If you are then cancel your plans. I'm taking you somewhere. I'll pick you up at 11am, ok? Make sure you're ready x_

I smiled at his complete and utter bluntness. Quickly I texted back.

_No I wasn't busy today, but thanks for asking. I'll see you at 11am then. Xxx_

I pressed send, put my phone down and went and took a shower. The hot water was good against my tired face, and when I'd finished I felt fresh and ready to face another day.

When I got back to my room I changed and ran a brush through my wet hair. Annoyingly there was a knot and I had to literally rip my brush through my hair. My head throbbed painfully after the knot was finally gone. Finally I was finished getting ready and I glanced at the clock again. 10.17am, wow I was moving really slow today. I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," I turned around and Jeremy came in. "Oh hey Jer, you ok?" He looked as though he was suppressing laughter. "What's so funny?" I inquired. Laughter was literally ripping him apart from the inside.

"Come and see for yourself. But be quiet." He beckoned me forth and I followed him to the landing. He peered over the banister and giggled. I looked and nearly burst out laughing too. Aunt Jenna was dancing – not disco dancing, but using an exercise video called Tai-bo. The man on the screen was saying "and lunge, two, three, four, five, six seven, eight. And breathe, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight…" She was really going for it. I looked at Jeremy and we couldn't hold it in any longer. We burst out laughing and tears came to my eyes. Aunt Jenna looked up sternly.

"What are you two laughing at? Isn't a woman allowed to get her body into shape?" she put her hands on her hips. "Now look what you've made me do! I've missed the squat-thrusts." This made us laugh even more. "Go away, both of you. Leave me and my hot body builder to ourselves, thank you." And with that she turned around and tried to catch up with tape. Jeremy helped me get up.

"Oh dear," I said, wiping the laughter tears away.

"My sentiments exactly," Jeremy giggled, stifling more laughter. "Hey, you look nice Elena. Where are you off to?" I didn't actually know exactly where I was going.

"I'm going somewhere with Damon. And thanks for the compliment," I smiled. He looked at me in surprise.

"You and Damon? Since when?" I sighed.

"Since yesterday actually." I turned to walk away. He grabbed my arm.

"Elena, I don't know why I'm saying this, but be careful. I've always got a bad vibe off of him. There's something…off about him." I was touched by his worry and honesty.

"I'm safe with Damon. But thanks Jer, for being so caring." I hugged him and he shuffled off to his room. After five minutes his music blared up. I looked at the clock again. 10.30Am. Time was going so slowly. I just wanted to see Damon again. I sat on my bed and stared at the window, wishing that he would just appear. So I tried to think of something to do to pass the time. I looked around me and realised that my room was actually a bit of a tip. So I gathered up the dirty clothes and threw them into the wash bin in the bathroom. Then I sorted out my desk and I got kind of into the whole bedroom cleaning thing. After a while I looked back at the clock. 10.57Am! Damon would be here soon. I grabbed my bag and made my way downstairs. As I got to the bottom the doorbell rang. I opened the door.

"Hey," Damon said as he stepped inside. He cupped my face in his hands and brought his lips down to mine. I melted. Our lips moved against each other rhythmically, and our breathing staggered. When we kissed I forgot every bad thing that was worrying me, everything that got me down. I had never known that Damon, of all people, could have ever made me feel this way. I remembered back to when I had hated him. When I was shocked at the way he could kill without a hint of remorse. But for some reason none of the past mattered anymore. It was like we had started again and I knew that if I didn't think about what he did to…eat, that I could be with him. The kissing slowed and eventually he pulled his face back ever so slightly, but kept his hands on my cheeks. His face was millimetres from my own, and I stared into his grey eyes. They were mesmerising. Suddenly I heard Aunt Jenna coming down the stairs. We quickly moved away from each other, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. I really didn't want to have to deal with her constant embarrassing remarks right now. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she looked at us and smiled.

"Why hello Damon, it's so nice to see you again," she said, staring at him. I rolled my eyes. "So what are you kids up to today, hmm?" I glanced up at Damon. I was wondering the same thing actually. He had only sent me a text saying that he wanted to take me somewhere, but I had no idea where that somewhere was.

"I was going to take Elena out for the day, is that ok?" He smiled down at me.

"Of course it's ok sweetie. Have fun you two." She beamed a smile at Damon. "Well, I'm off to meet Alaric at the Grill. See you later honey," and she kissed my cheek. She walked past us out of the door. I turned back to Damon.

"So, where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see," he grinned and took my hand. We walked out of the front door and he lead me to his 60's blue Chevrolet. It was a beautiful old car. He opened the door for me.

"Madam," he said with a smile and waved his hand as he bowed. I laughed at his dramatic gesture. The moment I was in he was already buckled up and the ignition was running.

"Aren't you worried that people will see you moving so fast?" I was worried he was going to give himself away by being reckless.

"Do you really think people are going to believe what they saw if they did?" I thought about it.

"I suppose…" And we were off, driving out of my street and onto the main road that ran through Mystic Falls. He switched on the radio and music blasted out into the car. His hand tapped along to the beat on the steering wheel. I wondered to myself if I should tell him about Stefan's appearance last night. I decided to save it.

"So, where exactly_ are _we going, Damon?" Again he told me I'd have to wait and see. We drove for a long time until we reached a huge forest. Driving through the thick undergrowth made me remember what Stefan had talked about the night before and I shivered.

"You ok?" Damon looked at me, a puzzled look on his face.

"I'm fine, don't worry." I sat back against the seat and closed my eyes. Suddenly someone was shaking me gently.

"Elena, wake up, we're here," a voice drifted into my sub consciousness.

"Wha- Did I fall asleep?" I said groggily. Damon laughed softly.

"Yes you did. But now we're here so come on." I looked out of the window. We were on top of a huge hill overlooking a valley. I didn't know Mystic Falls was anywhere near a valley. I was confused. Damon saw my puzzled face.

"I'll explain where we are in a sec. Come on." And he was at my door with it open in a blink. I undid my seatbelt and stepped out into the warm air. The view was breathtaking. It really was.

"This is my favourite place to relax. When I need to escape, get away from everything, you know?" I turned to him.

"Why did you bring me here?" He wrapped his arms around me.

"Stefan told me he told you. I figured it was a lot to take in, especially as it's my brother. For you to hear about him…you know, doing _that_, must have been hard. So I figured why not help her try to escape for a while." He stroked my hair. Damon had surprised me with his sentimentality yet again.

"You know Damon, you can be quite the sweet-heart sometimes. I would never have guessed," I looked up at him.

"Well, sentimentality isn't my most redeeming quality, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. I can be quite the romantic too, you know." He kissed the top of my head and then opened the boot of the Chevrolet. He pulled out a picnic basket. My eye's opened wide and I took in the scene that unravelled before me. Damon Salvatore, the cocky, dangerous vampire was laying out a picnic on top of a hill.

"Elena, why don't you come and sit with me?" He beckoned me over and I sat down next to him.

"Wow Damon. You've really surprised me this time." I leant up and kissed him. Then I grabbed a sandwich and munched it down. I'd realised that I hadn't had breakfast before I left.

"Mmm, did you make these? Their amazing," I said, licking my lips.

"No, they appeared out of mid air," he replied sarcastically. I looked up at him with a look of mock annoyance and continued eating. He grabbed one too and we sat in silence for ages taking in the scenery.

"This place is beautiful Damon. No wonder you love it here." He laughed.

"Elena, this place is beautiful, I agree. And calm and quiet. But that's not the only reason why I love it…" I looked at him, confused. "It's a favourite spot for hikers too." I recoiled a bit and breathed.  
"Damon, I'm trying not to think about how and what you eat. Can we stay off of that topic please?" He smiled guiltily back at me.

"Sorry…"

Suddenly, two men emerged from the forest behind us. They were dressed head to toe in hiking gear and they were laughing and chatting to each other.

"See what I mean?" Damon whispered in my ear. I batted him away.

"Oh shush." He laughed gently and I saw that his line of vision was fixed on the hikers. I felt myself shaking slightly. He looked down at me abruptly.

"Elena, don't worry. I won't hurt them. I won't hurt anyone when you're around me. I promise." My shaking gradually stopped. I looked back at the hikers and one of them saw me looking. He waved.

"Hi there!" he called. "We were just coming up here to take in the scenery. Stunning isn't it?" He put his hand over his eyebrows to block out the sun and looked out across the valley. I nodded back and went back to eating. Damon had said nothing, but as I looked up into his face I gasped. His face was changing, his eyes darkening, his canines lengthening.

"Damon, what-" I followed his eye line back to the hikers. One of them was lifting his leg up on to a rock. He peeled up his trousers and blood was pouring down his shin.

"Argh. See, I told you I'd hurt myself Jeff. You never listen. Always on a mission to get to the top." He laughed. He began to remove his backpack in search of a first aid kit, I presumed. I turned back to Damon.

"Damon, stop. Resist it. Please. You promised. For me." He looked down at me.

"Elena…I'm so sorry. But…I can't."

**CHAPTER 8**

He was on his feet. I scrambled backwards. The hikers looked at him. The one that was looking at the scenery joined his friend and looked his leg.

"Man, it's pretty deep. Sorry Kurt. We should have stopped back there." Damon was walking towards them stealthily. Jeff looked up at him.

"Hey man, can you come here and help me stop the bleeding?" Damon advanced.

"Of course, I'll help you stop the bleeding better than you think." He was walking stealthily, moving like a hunter – a predator. His body lowered but the hikers didn't notice as they were concentrating on Kurt's injury. I screamed at Damon.

"DAMON! NO! PLEASE! IF YOU LOVE ME YOU WON'T DO THIS!" The hikers looked at me in shock. Damon stopped. He was shaking. So was I. He stopped but he was tense. He didn't look at me.

"Elena, I – I…the pull, it's so strong. I – argh," he breathed in heavily. Abruptly, he turned on his heel. As he walked away from the men he said "sorry, forgot I don't like blood." He jumped into the car and slammed the door shut. I clambered in and we shot off. He didn't look at me. He didn't speak to me. His hands clenched the steering wheel making his knuckles turn white. My mind was tripping. Damon could have killed those hikers right in front of me. I shook with fear.

"Great. Now you're even more scared of me. Shit!" He slammed his hand against the steering wheel and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Damon, you didn't do it. You're better than you think. You resisted it for me. You kept your promise. And I love you for it." I touched his arm but he pushed me away.

"Elena, I'm too dangerous. I thought I could be with you but it's too risky. I'm sorry." He didn't look at me. I breathed in sharply.

"Pull over." I said.

"No." he replied sternly.

"Pull over," I demanded. "Damn it Damon, just bloody PULL OVER!" He skidded the Chevrolet to a stop at the side of the road. He just had time to say "What are you-" before I pressed my lips against his. He tried to push me away but I held his jacket collar as tightly as I could to keep him from doing so. He was really strong and I found it almost impossible to keep a grip, but with all my strength I held on and continued to kiss him. As I continued he slowly but surely relaxed little by little, and eventually he gave up the fight and wrapped his arms around me. I broke off from him gently. I held his face in my hands and looked sternly into his eyes.

"Don't you ever say that to me. I know now and you know now that you have the will to resist the blood if you really try." He looked away from me.

"You really think you can trust me…" I made him look at me again.

"I don't think, I know." I kissed his forehead. "Let's go home."

**CHAPTER 9**

We drove swiftly and smoothly back to Mystic Falls. I kept looking across at Damon and his face was still pained. I knew he was angry and upset with himself. We didn't talk for most of the journey. It wasn't until we were nearly back that he sighed.

"Elena, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have taken you out today." He stared at the road.

"Damon, don't say that. I loved it…until the near-attack that is. But it didn't happen. Which just goes to show that you are able to resist the blood if you try." He smiled weakly and looked at me.

"Why were you so angry with Stefan about killing someone when you know that that's what I do all the time?" I didn't know what to say. He was right.

"I…I don't know…I guess it's just the thought of him…killing. I mean he was always so trustworthy to me and then he did something like that…" I shuddered at the thought. "I'm so used to you now that I've kind of blocked out what you do and I-" he cut me off.

"Elena, Stefan made a slip-up, we all do. But the pull of human blood is so strong. I nearly ripped those hunters apart back there but you managed to stop me only by a fraction. I…I can't explain to you how STRONG that pull is, I really can't. And for it to be so close to Stefan, like on his lips, it's absolutely impossible not to drink." He stared out ahead.

"Elena, just to let you know, I haven't killed anyone, let alone hunted a human in a long time now. Blood banks are just as good a source, just minus the thrill." I was shocked. I hadn't known that Damon had stopped feeding directly on humans.

"Really? Wow, good for you Damon!" I forced a smile, as the thought of anyone drinking blood made me feel uncomfortable.

It was nearly night-fall when we pulled up outside my house. I clambered out of the car and began to walk up the path, with Damon at my side. Suddenly, Stefan staggered out of the bushes.

"Hey, HEY! Elena, Damon, how _are_ you?" he waved, and his words slurred slightly. I stepped back.

"Stefan…what's up with you?" I asked nervously, although I was sure I already knew. Damon stepped in front of me.

"Stefan. Go home. You're _drunk._" Damon sighed and took a step toward his brother who in the same second had punched Damon squarely in the jaw with horrifying precision. Damon fell backwards hard and hit the porch decking with a thud.

"And why do you think I'm drunk, Damon?" Stefan spat as Damon sprang swiftly to his feet. Fists clenched, Damon tensed his body and lowered it as if to pounce at any given moment. I wanted desperately to stand between them and stop them, but they were vampires, not boys. There was nothing I could do but stand helplessly on the sidelines.

"Look, Stefan," Damon growled. "Elena chose _me. _Get over it!" Stefan lunged.

"GET OVER IT? HOW?" And they threw each other around faster than I could see. They were really attacking each other.  
"Stop it! Please! I'm begging you!" I cried out in earnest but it was in vain. They ignored me.

"I love her Damon. You knew I did. You knew I'd be back here eventually but you seized that opportunity to steal the most perfect, the most wonderful thing from my life!" Stefan yelled and they moved their fight into the nearby forest. I ran desperately after them, tears streaming down my face pleading them to stop. Damon had Stefan pinned against a tree with one hand at his throat. Stefan's toes were barely touching the floor.

"You know better than to think you're stronger than me, brother," Damon growled menacingly. "I've had enough of you pining for _my _girl. Yes, that's right. _MY _girl." Stefan was about to attack his brother again in ferocity when a girl stepped out from behind a tree. I gasped and threw my hand to my mouth.

"But I thought _I _was your girl, Damon?" said Katherine.

**CHAPTER 10**

All three of our jaws dropped. Damon automatically let go of Stefan who dropped suddenly and he held a hand to his throat, rubbing it tenderly. All of our widened eyes were all fixed on the spitting image of me that stood casually opposite us.

"K-k…Katherine?" Damon choked out in bewilderment. She moved faster than I could see and was suddenly standing right in front of me. I could hardly comprehend the likeness between us. It was like looking in the mirror. She looked me up and down and then stared hard at my face. She looked confused.

"Well this is interesting…" she mused as she circled me. I didn't breathe. She was a vampire and she was stronger than Damon and Stefan. She could snap my neck in a second and not think twice about it. She seemed to sense my fear, and she smirked at me.  
"I'm not going to hurt you. You are far too interesting. Can I ask you _why _you look like me?" She stood facing me again. I tried to speak but my breath caught and no sound came out. I glanced across at Damon and Stefan who were standing there motionless with their mouths still hanging open. Katherine looked at me as if demanding an answer, but when I didn't respond she rolled her eyes and turned to face Damon and Stefan.

"Well? Aren't you happy to see me?" she smiled cutely. Damon shut his mouth slowly and his face turned from shock to anger.

"Happy? HAPPY?" he roared and she took a step back. His face morphed into vampire and he growled, "I waited for you Katherine. I waited ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY FIVE YEARS for you. I tried desperately to get into that tomb. I never gave up. And then, finally, I got the chance and I rushed inside to find you. And guess what? YOU WEREN'T THERE!" He yelled at her and she stood immobile. "That little vampire Anna told me that you had compelled one of the guards to let you free…She told me…" his face morphed back to human and he sank to the ground on his knees. When he looked up his face was pure sadness. A lump caught in my throat as the dangerous, powerful vampire Damon looked on the brink of _crying. _The amount of sorrow that had filled his normal look of confidence and smugness was just heart-rending.

"…She told me…you knew where I was. You always had. And yet…you never came back for me…You never even cared. And when she said that…my world fell apart. My love for you had been so strong. I thought that I would finally see you again after years apart and we'd be together again. But I was wrong. How could you?" He choked out and he stared at the mossy forest floor. I gasped silently as I saw a tear drip from Damon's face and hit the ground. He looked so sad. So helpless. I went to go and pull him into my arms but Stefan looked at me and shook his head as if to say, "leave him be." I nodded and just looked at the miserable vampire that was kneeling on the cold leafy forest floor. Katherine stared at him and looked at a loss of what to say.

"Damon…I…I'm so sorry. But I'm here now! And I've come for you, my darling. I tried to come before but things…came up. I love you, I always have," she said softly. But I didn't buy a word of it. And neither did Damon, apparently. He sprang to his feet and rubbed his eyes furiously.  
"So things came up constantly for one hundred and forty five years, huh? You love me huh? Just get out of my life Katherine. I don't love you. Not anymore." And with that, he turned on his heel and disappeared into the forest. Katherine reached her arm out desperately and took a step, but Stefan held up his hand.

"No, Katherine. Damon's right. Go. You're not wanted here." Stefan sped over and stood in front of me. "You abandoned him. I've never seen such love-driven madness in one person. He loved you more than words can say Katherine. We all saw that," and Stefan motioned at me. I nodded in agreement. "For him to find out that you had been free all the while, he fell apart. You killed his love for you." Stefan glared at her. Her mouth fell in a dramatic pout.

"Well, this reunion wasn't as fun as I'd hoped," she said, smiling a cruel smile. Rage flared up inside me. All that stuff she had said to Damon about loving him still had been a _lie. _I wanted to punch her but I knew if I did she rip me to shreds. Stefan growled.

"I SAID GO KATHERINE!" he roared and with a blow-kiss she was gone. He breathed hard and turned to me.

"Come on Elena. I think we need to find Damon." He turned his back to me and motioned for me to climb on. I obliged hesitantly and we sped off. My eyes stung as the wind blew like knives into them. I squeezed them shut and then we came to a halt. I prised them open and realised we were standing in front of the Salvatore house. The door was open. I slid off of Stefan's back and we walked slowly into the house. Stefan stopped.

"He's in there. I'll give you two some…time." He said unwillingly, but before I could answer he was gone. I ran swiftly into the house and my gaze fell upon a figure in the armchair near a roaring fire. I walked quietly up behind him but he didn't turn around. I knelt beside him but he just stared into the fire, not blinking. His eyes were glazed over and he held a bottle of whisky in his hand. I removed the bottle and held his chin in my hand. I forced him to look at me but when he did the sadness in his eyes overwhelmed me. He didn't say a word. He blinked slowly whilst staring me in the face blankly. After a while his eyebrows narrowed and he looked at me properly.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered, but I shushed at him and helped him to his feet. I wrapped my arms comfortingly around him and pulled him close.

"Damon," I cooed softly. "You've done nothing wrong. She's the one who should be sorry." I gritted my teeth and set my jaw as I thought about the self-serving bitch of a vampire Katherine. He smiled weakly as he looked into my eyes.  
"I loved her so much. I was convinced that she loved me too. And to have that torn away so suddenly…" he choked out. I held his face in my hands and kissed his cheek. I then wrapped my arms around him again, and he pressed his face into my hair. We stood there, motionless, in front of a crackling fire for a long, long time.

**CHAPTER 11**

I heard a cough from the doorway and both I and Damon spun around. Stefan stood awkwardly in front of us, with a sympathetic smile on his face.

"Hey man. Look, I'm so sorry about that thing earlier…You know, the fight…" he said, looking at the floor. Damon walked toward him.

"It's ok. But we've got bigger problems than ourselves at the moment. Katherine is back. She needs to be…disposed of…" Damon said the last to words with malice and it sent a shiver down my spine.

"But how? She's older than us, therefore stronger. We can't take her on alone, Damon." Stefan reasoned. "But I do agree that she needs to leave. For one thing we can't have people mistaking her for Elena, and we can't let anyone see them together. It's not like Elena can suddenly have a long-lost twin…" Stefan looked at loss and he sat by the fire. "So why IS she back? Because it's definitely not for me," Damon said angrily, snatching up a bottle of whisky and pouring out a huge glassful. Then he poured out two smaller ones and handed them to Stefan and I. I held the glass gently in my hands, but I could see Damon was only a fraction away from the glass smashing into millions of fragment by the way his hand was gripping his glass. Stefan placed his down and winced.

"I don't think I'll be drinking anymore tonight…" Stefan said sheepishly as he pushed the glass along the side-table away from himself.

"Suit yourself," Damon replied, and poured Stefan's entire whisky down his throat. He set his teeth as he swallowed the fiery alcohol. I played with my glass in my hands and looked between them.

"So what are we going to do?" I asked.

"YOU are not going to do anything. Leave this to Stefan and I, Elena," Damon said as he turned to me.

"No! Just because I'm human doesn't mean that I'm incapable of helping out vampires…" I replied angrily. "There's a vampire here that looks EXACTLY like me. Don't you think that will have some complications?" Suddenly Damon's eyes widened. He froze and stared at me. "What?" I asked nervously, worried of what he was about to say.

"Oh no," he said quietly.

"Damon" What have you realised?" I urged. He looked at Stefan.

"She can get in!" He shouted in rage and slammed his glass on the table, making me jump. "Katherine can get in to her house!" And he pointed back at me. Stefan was on his feet.  
"Oh my god…you're right." Stefan said worriedly. He was pacing too now. I looked at them and jumped to my feet.

**CHAPTER 12**

"What…what?" I cried out.

Damon spun round and looked at me with a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Katherine looks like you Elena. All she has to do is knock on your door and ask to come in. Although Jenna will think it's strange, she'll do it." I gasped. He was right. I could imagine Jenna's confused look as she let the apparent "me" into the house. "But," Damon reassured, "I don't know if Katherine knows where you live. But she's out there right now, probably lurking outside the house. If you go home she'll follow you and try to learn everything about you." He stared into the fire. "She'll then try to be you." I sat very still.

"How do you know?" I asked quietly.

"Because I know Katherine, Elena. Enough to know that you will have sparked her interest. And she's not the only one who wants to know why you look like her…" He said the last sentence with curiosity strung in every word.

"Don't you think that I want to know too? I mean we found out that I was adopted from Isobel, but that was it. We don't know how she was linked to Katherine." I sat back down again, shaking at the thought that the moment Katherine stepped into my house that that was it. She was in forever. I shuddered again and Damon perched himself on the arm of the chair next to me. He looked as though his was about to say something but his mouth just shut and his eyebrows lowered. I looked out of the window and saw my reflection staring back at me. Suddenly my reflected lips curled into a smile but my face hadn't changed. I froze. My eyes widened. Katherine was staring at me through the glass. Damon saw me tense and followed my eye line. But when he looked at the window she was gone.

"What did you see, Elena?" He asked worriedly.

"Katherine," I whispered. He immediately stood up and was at the window before I blinked. Stefan was up too and glancing hurriedly around.

"She can get in, can't she?" I asked, frightened. "She can get in here because no human resides here!" Stefan nodded. His face was tight with worry and anticipation. Both of them looked ready to strike. The house was silent apart from the subtle noise of my breathing. We stood in hush for a few moments. Before I blinked, the space before me was empty. When I did blink the space was home to none other than Katherine herself. I gasped and huddled in the chair. Both Damon and Stefan darted in front of me and growled. Katherine crossed her arms and stood casually, smiling at them.

"What do you want," Damon spat. His fists were clenched at his sides. Katherine smiled as she propped herself against the wall.

"Damon dear, calm down," she said, her grin widening. "I just wanted to visit my old home town, is that too much to ask?" Stefan took a step. He looked nearly as angry as Damon.

"This town was never your home, Katherine. You used it to your advantage. Can't you see that you're not wanted here? Why not just leave?" he growled menacingly.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said as anger washed over her face. I recoiled. So did Damon and Stefan a little. "I want to know why that girl," she pointed a pale finger at me, "looks EXACTLY like me. I can't work out why. It's uncanny." She glared at me with confusion in her dark eyes. I cleared my throat.

"Di-did you know someone called…Isobel?" I asked, my voice uneven and timid. Damon and Stefan spun around to face me, yet they kept looking warily back at Katherine. She cocked her head to one side.

"Isobel, did you say?" she replied. I nodded. She stared at me hard, and then her eyes widened. She gasped and backed away. "Oh my god!" She cried out. I was confused. So were Stefan and Damon.

"Katherine, what is it?" Damon urged, taking a step towards her. She was clutching her stomach, breathing heavily. "Katherine!" he called out and she glanced up at him, then across at me. She pointed at me with a shaky hand.

"She's….me!"

**CHAPTER 13**

"What?" Stefan said when words failed to leave both Damon and my mouths. She was still staring at me.

"I can't believe it. How is this possible?" she said to herself. I was at loss. What was she TALKING about? Stefan slowly walked towards her and knelt beside her.

"Katherine, we need you to tell us. What are you talking about? How is Elena…you?" he asked gently. She seemed to calm down and she walked over to the bar. She shakily poured herself a large neat vodka and downed it. She slammed the glass down and stared at the fire.

"A few years before I came to Mystic Falls in 1864, Emily and I were travelling in North Carolina. We had a run in with some idiotic young vampires who were impossibly strong. They were three men and they got…obsessed with me. To tell you the truth, I was scared of them. For some reason they were stronger than me - an older vampire. I fought them off but only just managed to survive. One of them was amazing at tracking, and they all followed me. Emily couldn't kill them, even though her magic was powerful. It seemed as though they had some sort of protection charm keeping them safe. Eventually we thought we'd lost them, and Emily told me that she could help me get away from them by leading them off my scent. I asked her how, and she said it was dangerous." She looked away from the fire. Damon, Stefan and I were listening intently. Where was this strange story going? How did it link to me? She continued.

"I told her I'd do anything to get them off my back. So she set up a ritual. It involved removing part of my soul and locking it away. That part would be used to lure the vampires away and leave me free to escape. I lay on a cold stone floor whilst Emily prepared the spell. Then she chanted and I felt as though I was dying. Like part of me was being ripped out. Which it was. The part of my soul which Emily used…was my humanity." She whispered the last word. I suddenly felt a twang of sympathy for Katherine. She had had to lose her humanity to save herself from being attacked and possibly dying.  
"You have no…humanity?" Damon choked. She looked at him sadly and nodded slowly. "Which means that you're not capable of sympathy or kindness or…love?" He glanced away. "You never loved me. Not even in 1864. You couldn't…" She was suddenly at his side and holding his chin in her hand. She looked him dead in the eyes.

"I tried Damon. I tried so hard to love you. I wanted to, terribly. I knew that my humanity would have loved you more than you can ever know. And my humanity does, I see…" And she looked at me. Damon gasped. Stefan gasped. I gasped. I was Katherine's humanity.

**CHAPTER 14**

"How…." I said slowly, trying to get my head around what Katherine was telling me. I was her humanity? I was her SOUL? "How…" I said pathetically again. She sat down on the sofa and held her empty glass tightly. She looked up at me.

"When Emily removed my humanity, she locked it away. She told me that the only way I could ever get it back was if it was…born again. Then she would chant a spell and my souls would be united." She stared sadly at the floor. "But Emily has gone. Her spell has gone. There's no way I can get my humanity back…" Damon's mouth stopped hanging open and he fumbled out his words.

"So, Elena is…you? She's what you were like when you were human? What you would have been like if those vampires hadn't attacked you?" He rubbed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. "So if you were to join back with your humanity…what would happen to Elena?" He asked quietly, his face dropping as he guessed, just like I had already.

"Her body would die but the soul would remain. Like a ghost." I shuddered.

"W-w-would I lose myself?" I asked, frightened. What if Katherine managed to do it? What if she managed to get her humanity back? Would she still remember everything that I had been through in my life? Would I be alive as her? I didn't want to die.

"I don't know," she answered thoughtfully. "Well I don't think so, seeing as you are actually part of me." Amazingly this comment didn't make me feel any better.

"Oh my god, this is way too much…" I said faintly and I fell backwards onto the chair behind me. Damon rushed to my side.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly, brushing my hair out of my face. His eyes were full of worry.

"I'm ok. Well, I guess I've been better. How is Isobel involved in all this though?" I asked Katherine.

"My soul was protected in a charmed locket. If anyone opened it the soul would enter them. I always thought that the soul would just reside in their body, like the body acting as a host, but it seems to me," she said as she circled me, staring at me intensely, "that the soul took on the form of myself as a baby, and the person who opened the locket carried the baby. The locket could only be opened by a human. I kept the locket with me searching for someone to help me get my humanity back, a suitable human who would be happy enough to die, or so I thought, to make room for my soul. It was until one fateful day that my locket got stolen. A band of travelling vampire's allowed Emily and I to join them, but one night, one of them stole my locket whilst I was sleeping and the next morning they were all gone. And they had taken my humanity with them. Of course none of them could open the locket, but it was devastating thinking that I may never get it back. I searched for them for years alongside Emily, who did everything in her power to try to find them. Eventually we ended up in Mystic Falls, where I met you two," she said, pointing at both Stefan and Damon and grinning. Damon's face softened suddenly.

"Katherine, I'm so sorry. Now I understand everything. You didn't love me because you literally COULDN'T love me, and you can't help but be the way you are. That must be terrible." He walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, but she brushed it away instantly.

"I don't need your pity, Damon," she retorted. The fact that she couldn't use most human emotions and experience most human feeling crushed me more than I thought it would. It was like something was aching horribly inside me. I clutched my painful chest and breathed slowly. Damon was back at my side and he held my arm.

"Elena, what's wrong, are you ok?" he asked again.

"I just had a weird pain in my chest," I breathed as I composed myself. He held me in his arms. Katherine cleared her throat.

"Anyway," she began. "The locket must have travelled from vampire to vampire or something. I'm not quite sure. But one day Emily had a vision. She came to me and told me what she had seen. She said "…Isobel will save your soul." She didn't say anymore on the subject apart from that one little sentence. I never knew what she meant…until now." She was in front of me in a blink, but stopped abruptly as Damon put his arm out to stop her coming any closer.  
"Isobel was your mother, wasn't she?" Katherine asked. I nodded and she sat down in the chair next to me. Stefan, who had been quiet for a very long time, also sat down. We all sat in silence for a while, taking in what each of us had learned in the evening of events. I was dumbfounded. All this information was a lot to take in. And thinking about the fact that I was only Katherine's humanity made me feel…not completely human. It just made me feel like a kind of "storage box" for her soul.

**CHAPTER 15**

"You do realise that I'm going to want my humanity back," Katherine said finally, looking at the floor. Damon, Stefan and I tensed and we all glared at her. She looked up and put her hands up. "But don't get all worked up about it! I need a witches spell to get my humanity back and I don't know any witches anymore so," I relaxed a little.  
"Even if you do get a witch to help you, I won't let you touch Elena," Damon said angrily. Stefan nodded. Katherine narrowed her eyebrows.

"I know you both love her and want her to be safe, but I'm sure that if I'm united with my humanity we'll be the same person. We ARE the same person. She's just me out of my own body. I need her. I need my humanity. I want to feel again. I want to love again…" she stroked Damon's face. "I know in my heart that you would have been the man that I loved. I would have loved you so strongly that words can't even describe. My heart aches to think that I may never get to feel that love." Damon relaxed and stared into her eyes. I knew he still loved her. She looked at me. "I envy you. I envy you so much it hurts. You get to feel love. I miss love…" I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She seemed so desperate. But I didn't know what would happen to my soul if I gave it over to Katherine. I could lose all my memories and thoughts and just become a part of Katherine. But I did know that even if that happened Damon would fall for Katherine again because her humanity would return, making her like me. Damon stood up.

"Katherine. Thank you for telling us everything. But I think it's time for you to leave." She stood up also, and nodded.

"I'll leave, but don't think I won't be back," she replied, smiling.

"I know you will," Damon said, and suddenly she was gone. We all breathed out heavily at the same time.

"I think I need to go out and, you know…" Stefan said as he raised himself from his chair. He disappeared too and left Damon and I standing idly in the centre of the room. Damon slowly turned to me and wrapped his arms around me.

"Don't you ever think that if Katherine gets her humanity from you, that I'll just love Katherine again immediately. I will never let her take you, Elena. You're the girl I love and I never ever want to lose you," he said softly as he kissed the top of my head. I leant my face up to his.

"I never want to lose you either," I replied quietly and pressed my lips firmly against his. When we broke apart he held my face in his hands.

"I know a way that I can protect you from Katherine ever getting her humanity. And it will mean that you and I will never have to leave one another. I want you forever, Elena." I stepped back as I realised what he was getting at.

"Damon…are you saying…." I gasped. He nodded.

"Yes, Elena. I think I should turn you," he replied.

I backed away slightly.

"Damon…what? You want to turn me…?" I was in shock. He grabbed my arms.

"I NEED to turn you, Elena. There's a difference. Once you're a vampire you'll be safer from Katherine. And also, it means that you and I can be together…forever," he said as he smiled gently.

"Damon, being a vampire won't keep me safer from Katherine. She can still take my humanity and then I'll be exactly like her," I told him anxiously. "But to be with you forever is something I want dearly, but I don't know if I can leave my family and friends behind. Give me time." He nodded and pulled me into an embrace. He held me tightly and kissed my hair. I kissed him and he kissed me back. Soon we were ripping each others clothes off and he carried me upstairs. We fell onto his bed and he ran his hands softly up my sides, sending excited chills shooting through my body. He ran his hands under my tee-shirt and I shivered with the excitement. He pulled it off and threw it to the floor. He kissed me all over and kept returning to my lips every once in a while. We kept at it for ages and my back kept arching as my pleasure reached it peak. He ran his hand down my back slowly and my body tingled. I tangled my hands in his hair and then slid them over his face and down his chest. He sighed and I rolled over so I was on top of him. I ran my hands over his chest again and kissed it passionately. He stared into my eyes and stroked my hair. I moved my lips back to his and we breathed out heavily as we kept going. He rolled back on top of me to make me the main focus of our activity and decided to go at it faster. This time was actually better than our first time, which had been absolutely incredible. I sighed heavily as my back arched again. He smiled as kissed my neck; my chest; my stomach. I grabbed his shoulders but the sweat made my hands slide over his back. He sighed too. We went on for what seemed like hours. I wondered why Stefan hadn't come home but I quickly threw thoughts of Stefan from my mind and turned back to the situation at hand. Finally, after an amazing, amazing few hours, we rolled onto our backs and breathed out slowly. Damon propped himself onto his elbow and gazed at me lovingly. He brushed my bedraggled hair out of my face and his touch was gentle and kind. I moved myself closer to him and tucked my head beneath his chin. He stoked my hair and whispered lines of a love poem in my ear.

_Feelings that once were hidden__  
__Are now expressed to you.__  
__Days that once were stormy__  
__Are now the brightest blue._

_Times that once were lonely__  
__Are now filled with pleasure.__  
__All that once was mine alone__  
__Are now things we both treasure._

_Nights that once were cold__  
__Are now comforting and warm.__  
__Fears that once were very real__  
__Are now gone with the storm._

_A heart that once was broken__  
__Can now finally mend.__  
__A person once alone in life__  
__Can now call you a friend._

_Dreams that once were longed for__  
__Are now all coming true.__  
__The love I once thought was gone__  
__I have now and forever in you._

His words made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. The words seemed to fit our relationship perfectly. Katherine being the reason for '_a heart that once was broken', _and he had accentuated the word '_forever' _when he had spoken it. I'd heard all his love for me in that poem and I grabbed his face and pulled his lips down to mine. He kissed me back and then smiled my favourite smile of his. I touched his face and smiled back. Oh, how I loved him. Suddenly there was an awkward, urgent cough at the door. I snapped my head around to see Stefan, his eyes wary and desperate.

"We have a big problem," he said anxiously.

**CHAPTER 16 **

"Every time. Every bloody time…" Damon muttered angrily as he yanked on a new pair of tracksuit trousers he had pulled out of a drawer. He glared at Stefan who gave him a guilty look. Damon threw me one of his shirts. I tugged it on and fumblingly did up the buttons. Stefan was pacing impatiently as we hurriedly got dressed.

"So what is it then?" Damon snapped. Stefan stopped pacing.

"There are new vampires in town. Three males," he said worriedly. Damon tensed.

"How do you know?" Damon asked, suddenly not as mad at his brother.

"I saw them hunting in the woods. They're vicious and they're a threat. We need to do something," Stefan replied, running his hands through his hair. Damon nodded.

"We're going to have to deal with them tomorrow. For now Elena needs her rest…" he turned back to me, smiling smugly, and I gave him a sarcastic smile back. He was right though. Today had been a really busy day, from hikers with near-death experiences, Damon and Stefan's fight, Katherine's reappearance and the amazing sex with Damon…I smiled to myself as I recalled the previous few hours. Stefan left the room muttering to himself and Damon sat down on the bed next to me. He cradled me in his arms for a while, then I rang Aunt Jenna telling her I was staying at Bonnie's, and then I rang Bonnie to tell Aunt Jenna I was there if she rang. After that Damon tucked me into bed and got under the duvet next to me. I kissed him for a while too and finally I turned away from him and closed my eyes. I felt his cool, bare chest against my back as he wrapped his arms around me. He placed his face on the back of my head. He began to hum a beautiful melody and soon enough I was fast asleep.

My eyes blinked open slowly. I felt Damon's chest beneath my head rising and falling. I glanced up and saw that he was still sleeping. He looked so peaceful. So…beautiful. And calm. I stroked his face. Sunlight was pouring in through a break in the curtains and it made the room warm and soft. I wrapped my arms around Damon and closed my eyes again. I wasn't in a rush to begin the day. Then I felt Damon move beneath me and looking up I saw his eyes open gradually. He squinted down at me and smiled widely. I kissed his lips tenderly.

"Good morning," I whispered quietly as my lips left his.

"Good morning to you too," he said gently as he brought my lips back to his again. Our mouths moved together and we passionately made out for a good five minutes or so. When we broke apart I flung my legs over the side of the bed and spotted my clothes from the previous night piled neatly on a chair by the door.

"Did you-" I began to ask Damon as I pointed at the pile, but he shook his head. It must have been Stefan. It must be hard for him to see Damon and I together but I just couldn't help that. He was going to have to learn to live with it. Suddenly Damon's arms were around my waist and he kissed my neck affectionately. I tilted my head to allow him to explore my neck and he took the invitation with keen enthusiasm. I breathed out a sigh.

"We need to get dressed. We need to find out about these vampires, Damon," I said quietly and he pulled his mouth away from my neck.

"You're right, but leave that to Stefan and I," he said softly. "But right now I'm going to have to take you home."

"Wait, what about Katherine? She'll follow us and then-" but he cut me short.

"Elena, Katherine wants to stay here. And she won't go making a scene if she wants to remain in town. You're safe…" He said the last two words with less enthusiasm. He smiled weakly and released me from his arms. I quickly pulled on the clothes from yesterday and made my way with Damon downstairs. As we rounded the corner into the living room, my eyes took in the scene. Katherine and Stefan were talking furiously and Katherine was waving her arms in despair. Their heads snapped around as they saw us.

"Damon, Elena," Katherine began. "The problem Stefan told you about last night has just got a whole lot worse."

**CHAPTER 17**

"What do you mean? What's happened?" Damon urged. Katherine hung her head solemnly.

"The new vampires in town are the same ones that were obsessed with me back in the 1850's. The exact same ones." My jaw dropped and I gasped.

"Why are they here? Why now?" said Damon as he tensed up and clenched his fists.

"My guess is that it's because I'm close to my…humanity, which is, FOR NOW, Elena," she said, accentuating the words 'for now' and staring maliciously at me. I took a step back. Damon placed himself as if he was ready to protect me from anything. His eyes were wide.

"Katherine, you need to leave. That way both you and Elena will be safe," he said anxiously.

"Damon, they now know where we both are. They won't just go away if I leave. They'll track both Elena and I down. And they are strong. Like, impossibly strong. If I had my humanity, I'd be completely and utterly frightened right now. Just like her," she smirked, pointing at me. Damon spun around and saw me, a pale, wide-eyed girl reclining from the vampires slowly. He put out his hand to me but I ignored him. I was indeed frightened. These were vampires that Damon and Stefan couldn't beat. If they fought, they would die. I couldn't lose them.

"No, Damon. I-I can't…this is all far too much this time…" And with that, I pathetically fainted on the floor.

I heard someone distantly calling my name.

"Elena, Elena! Are you ok? Please, wake up!" And I felt a hand shaking my arm, and another hand holding the back of my head. Slowly, the voice got louder and my eyes flickered open. I saw Damon's distraught and worried face hovering over mine.

"Damon, I-I'm sorry…" I mumbled, but he shushed at me and stroked my hair.

"You've done nothing wrong. How are you feeling?" he asked softly. I nodded feebly and tried to sit up, but my back ached from the sudden fall when I had fainted on the hard wooden floor. He lifted me in his strong arms and placed me down on the soft, comfortable sofa. He knelt beside me and searched my face with his grey eyes. His beautiful grey eyes. I suddenly remembered the news about the other vampires and groaned. Damon shook me gently again but I batted him away with my hand mumbling – lying – 'I'm fine…" He looked unsure but glanced back at Katherine.

"How can we get rid of them? I mean you can't take away another piece of your soul," he said worriedly to her. She put her hands over her face and looked like if she could cry, she would. Suddenly I felt overwhelmed. I felt that terrible aching feeling in my chest again and suddenly I felt very strange. Words that weren't mine poured from my mouth.

"I'm so sorry that I have caused this. I should have never come back here. Now I've disrupted your lives and I never meant for that to happen. I'm so scared, not just for me, but for us all," and my mouth snapped shut. The three vampires in the room were staring at me, their eyes so wide they looked like they were going to fall from the sockets.

"Wha-what did you just say?" Katherine choked. Damon's mouth was hanging open, as was Stefan's. "You just…talked my words. The words that I'm incapable of saying. How…-" They looked as bewildered as I probably did. What had just happened to me?

"I don't know…" I replied. Damon stared at me, dumbfounded.

"It must be the connection between both of you," he looked at both Katherine and I. "The souls are interacting. It must be the fact that you're so close to one another…" he mused, still staring at me.

**CHAPTER 18**

Katherine sat opposite me with a confused look on her face. She glanced up and stared hard at my face.

"Those vampires won't find us straight away, but when they do…" I shuddered along with the other three. "What can we do?" she said as she buried her face in her knees.

"I think I know someone who can help us," Damon said wonderingly. "Katherine, I think it would be much easier if you…stayed here, rather than come with us," he added. She stood up angrily.

"Why? I have every right to walk outside!" she said as she clenched her fists.

"Katherine, you look exactly like Elena. It will cause complications," Stefan piped up. His face looked drained and worried, just like Damon's.

"I don't care. I'm coming with you. I promise I won't be seen." She said, pulling on her jacket. Damon's eyes rolled and he too grabbed his black leather jacket. Their dark clothes seemed to make them match and they looked really good with each other. I saw their gazes meet and Damon smiled suddenly and looked away. So did Katherine. I knew I couldn't help that they had a history, but it still bugged me.

We all left the house silently and piled into my car. All of us apart from Katherine, that is. She darted off through the trees when Damon had told her where we were meeting. I sped off and headed for the high school. As I pulled up a few jocks sprinted past the car laughing and chatting loudly. Saturdays were football practice. I saw Matt walking with Caroline who was literally skipping beside him. They stopped in the middle of the parking lot and kissed passionately for a few moments. I smiled. It was great that Matt had someone. Being alone without his mum or Vicky must have been hard. As they disappeared out of the lot, we piled out of the car and ran inside the school. It was empty and quiet. We stood around for a while until Katherine's face peered around the door.

"All clear?" she whispered, and Damon nodded. She smiled and walked in, closing the door softly behind her. We walked swiftly down the corridor and Damon knocked on the classroom door. I heard a muffled 'come in' from behind it and we entered the room.

**CHAPTER 19**

Alaric Saltzman looked up from his desk and watched as Damon, Stefan and I walked into the room. Katherine stood outside.

"What do you guys want now?" he asked, putting his eyes back to the papers he was marking.  
"We need your help with a little "vampire extermination"" Damon said, crossing his arms and sitting on a desk. Alaric looked from Damon to Stefan to me and shook his head.

"No way. I can't keep getting involved in all your vampire problems. I have papers to grade so if you excuse me…" But Katherine stepped through the door.

"No, excuse me. This is bigger than just a vampire problem. If you want everyone in this town to survive then I suggest you help us." Alaric's eyes widened as his head snapped back and forth between Katherine and I.

"How- how?" he said, confused. I calmed him down and Damon filled him in on who Katherine was and why she looked like me. He also told him about the three new vampires. Alaric sat there letting the large amount of new information pile into his brain. He seemed shocked the whole time and kept looking at Katherine and I, puzzled. Finally he managed a nod and rubbed his eyes.

"Wow…I guess I should help you, huh…" I nodded urgently.

"We need you, Alaric. You have that ring which keeps you from dying. And you have weapons that can help us destroy them. Please," I begged, and he seemed to be deciding. Eventually he nodded.

"If it means keeping this town safe, and Elena safe, then I'll do it," he said, worry strung in his every word.

"Ok, we need some of your…ammunition…" Damon asked, and Alaric pulled a heavy-looking brief-case from under his desk and lay it on the desk. He unlocked it and revealed a mixture of darts, stakes and a large gun used to shoot stakes. Katherine looked impressed as she ran her hands over the items.

"Wow, you certainly know what you're doing," she said in awe. He smiled weakly up at her and then handed us all armfuls of ammo.

"So how do we lure these vampires to kill them?" he asked anxiously. Katherine cleared her throat.

"One way is to let Elena and I go into the woods and us being so close and alone should lure them." My eyes widened in fear. I would be alone with Katherine. And three blood-thirsty male vampires desperate for me. Shuddering, Damon put his hand on my shoulder.

"We'd be close by Elena, and then we'd kill them," he reassured me, "but I don't trust her with you," he said at Katherine. She smiled.

"There is another way. If you let me be united with my humanity they'll go straight for me and then you could kill them…" But Damon slammed his fist on the table.

"NO! No way. You are NEVER getting your humanity back, Katherine!" He growled massively and she recoiled, ever so slightly. The terrible ache hit my chest again. Katherine seemed to double over for some reason as words spilled from my mouth.

"Please Damon! I want to love again! I want to FEEL again! I feel like my heart is being ripped out because I desperately want this. I need to be whole again, I can't be half a soul for all eternity!" Tears spilled from my cheeks as I spoke, feelings that weren't mine washed through me – sorrow, desperation, need…loneliness. This episode was worse than the last. I felt…like someone else. Katherine was on the floor, clutching her chest and groaning. Damon was holding my face in his hands, asking desperately if I was ok, and Stefan was with Katherine, shaking her gently. She gasped and spluttered but pain was all over her face. She stared at me.

"I…need…you…" she breathed. I knew she was right. She needed her humanity. Being in such close quarters with me was taking its toll on her. I was channelling her desired thoughts and words and feelings. I thought to myself that maybe…maybe if I did join with Katherine I'd be the dominant part of the soul. Maybe…maybe it was something that we both needed.

"I know you do, Katherine. And I think…I think you're right…" I whispered. Damon grabbed my shoulders and looked me dead in the eyes.

"No! Elena! You can't!" he cried.

I shook my head.

"Damon, I think this is something I need to do, for me AND Katherine. I don't know how to explain it really, it's just that being around Katherine's made me feel as though there has been a part of me missing. I never noticed it before. And part of me knows that I won't lose myself. I can do this, Damon," I replied.

"Please, Elena," he pleaded. "I can't risk losing you! It's too dangerous. You could be lost forever and just become a part of Katherine." He looked close to tears. I stroked his face.

"Damon. Humanity over-rules any other part of the soul. I've seen that in you and in Stefan. You've proved that love conquers all. And I'll be with you again as one with Katherine. It's what she wants. I can't bear to see her like that. I feel her pain. I LITERALLY feel her pain. It hurts me, Damon." I looked at the floor. He placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Elena…If this is what you want…Then you're on your own. I can't bear the thought of losing you. But if it's your choice to leave me…then I guess I have to accept that." A solemn tear rolled down his cheek.

"Damon…please…I don't want to leave you, I want what's right. A soul shouldn't be split apart, it's not natural!" I reasoned desperately, but he shook his head and stepped away.

"I can't bear the thought of you destroying yourself Elena, no matter what you think about humanity being dominant of the soul. You'll be a part of Katherine, you won't be completely Elena. And it's the complete Elena that I love." And with that, he disappeared.

**CHAPTER 20**

Stefan raised himself from Katherine's side as she sat up. Alaric walked over to me and put his arm over my shoulder.

"He'll see that you're right in the end, Elena. I think you're right. So what do we do?" he asked Katherine and Stefan.

"We need a witch," said Katherine, with a smile spread across her face. She threw her arms around me and hugged me.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," she whispered in my ear. "I owe everything to you, Elena." She pulled herself away and smiled at me even more.

I sat there, staring. I didn't know what I'd just gotten myself into, really.

"Right. We need…a witch. So I guess we're going to have to leave town and start looking for one, stat," Katherine mused.

"No. I know a witch," I said softly. She snapped her head up and stared at me, and so did Alaric.

"You know a witch?" Katherine looked amused. "Well that saves us some time." She smiled happily and literally skipped over to the door. "Come on then, we don't have any time to lose!"

"I have to talk to her first," I called after her, and she re-entered the room.

"So you're friends with this witch? Wow, you're even more like me than I first thought. In with the vampires, buddies with witches…" she smiled at me again. She really was thankful to me. I needed to go through with this. I owed it to both of us.

Bonnie waved at me as she walked through the door of Mystic Grill. She slid they chair out and sat down opposite me. I smiled gently and she beamed.

"Hey Elena!" she said as she took off her jacket. I managed to say "hello," back. I was aware of how much I would be asking of her. She probably wouldn't be willing to risk losing her best friend. Her face dropped.

"Are you ok?" she said, taking my hands. Suddenly she gasped and her grip tightened on my hands. I winced for a second then realized she was having a vision. I waited until she came too but she stood up and glared at me.

"I would never help you to do that Elena. I will never ever risk it. I'm sorry," she said desperately. I widened my eyes. She had seen what I was going to tell her. I stood up too and grabbed her arm.

"Please Bonnie, just hear me out," I pleaded but she shrugged me away.

"No, Elena. And who is that? Katherine? The girl Damon wanted so badly? She's BACK? I can't deal with vampire problems Elena. Not now. Not ever." And with that she ran out of the Grill. I chased after her and she rounded the corner. She kept glancing behind her and decided to take a turn down an alley. As I rounded the corner after her I saw her against the wall. Katherine had her by the collar. Before I had time to speak and Bonnie had time to scream Katherine ripped off Bonnie's vervain filled necklace and threw it to the floor. Then she forced Bonnie to look into her eyes.

"You will do everything I say. You will help me get my humanity back, witch. And you will forget about me, and what I've just done," she said in a dreamy, melodic voice. Bonnie nodded in a hypnotic fashion and Katherine let go of her. She fell to the floor. I rushed to her side and when Katherine saw me she smiled.

"I guess when things need to be done you've just got to do them yourself." She patted my shoulder and walked away down the alley. I looked back at Bonnie who was groaning and holding her arm.

"Ah, I think I sprained it..." she looked around. "What am I doing out here?" she asked. I stroked her hair.

"You were walking with me when you tripped and fell, Bonnie," I replied. She looked slightly unsure.

"How did we end up in the alley?" I gulped. But she shook her head. "Never mind," she said as I helped her to her feet.

"How's your arm?" I asked her worriedly, glancing around for any signs of Katherine.  
"I think its ok actually. It just hurts," she replied, rubbing her arm tenderly.

"Come on, I'll take you back to my house," I said as we walked.

**CHAPTER 21**

As we neared the porch, a voice called my name from behind us. We span around and saw Stefan at the end of the pathway.

"Bonnie, why don't you go inside?" I said, and she nodded in agreement. Soon I was standing with Stefan and he looked into my eyes.

"Elena, what Damon said…about not wanting to see you risking your life…I agree. I can't watch you do that to yourself either. I love you, even though it's clear you no longer feel the same way towards me as you did before. So, while this idea is still in your mind, I won't be around to help out with anything. And neither will Damon. When you realise what you've agreed to and decide not to do it, let me know," I opened my mouth to speak but he put his finger on my lips. "No, Elena. Nothing you can say will make me change how I feel about this situation." And with that he was gone. A tear ran down my face. I was hurting them. Both of them. They were scared of losing me. But they didn't understand. I HAD to do this.

I went inside and found Aunt Jenna holding a hot/cold pack on Bonnie's injured arm. As I walked in they both looked up and smiled at me.

"My arm's better now," Bonnie said to me. I sat down beside her and took the hot/cold pack from Aunt Jenna. I held it firmly against her arm.

"Elena, I have to go into town for a while. I'll be back later. I hope your arm feels better soon Bonnie," Aunt Jenna said as she grabbed her car keys from the kitchen work top. When the door shut I searched Bonnie's face for any inkling of her remembering what I'd told her.

"Elena, I'll help you. I know I said I wouldn't but I've…changed my mind. I see now that it's…for the best," she said calmly, smiling. It hurt me that this was the compulsion talking, not my best friend. If she hadn't been compelled she would be totally against the idea.

**CHAPTER 22**

Later that day, after Bonnie's arm was nearly back to normal, I drove her home. As I drove away I was sure I caught sight of Katherine in the trees. When I looked back at the place I thought I'd seen her, there was no one there. She was following me. I shivered and put my foot down. When I finally got home I fell onto my bed and breathed out heavily. I opened my eyes to see Damon staring blankly at the floor. I gasped in shock. Eventually I calmed down.

"Damon….I'm sorry…" I said softly. He didn't look at me.

"Why…why would you do this Elena…" he said quietly. I saw a tear roll down his cheek and I watched as it hit my carpet silently. I went to him and tried to hug him but he pushed me away and still didn't look me in the eye. "What if I lose you Elena? What if it doesn't work? What if…you die?" he choked the last two words and he wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He was truly upset.

"Damon…Damon, I'm sorry! I can't explain it, but this is something I feel – no I KNOW – that I need to do," I replied, tears beginning in my eyes. It crushed me to see him hurting this way, but this wasn't to do with him. This was my problem, and I was dragging him down in it. He was hurting due to me.

"Are you willing to risk your family and your friends losing you? They may never see you again, and you may never see them. Think of how many people you could be hurting!" And he slammed his fist on my side board, causing it to crack. He didn't seem to care. "I won't be a part of you killing yourself, Elena. I refuse to see it. Until you come back to me and tell me that you've changed your mind, you won't see me again. I can't bear hurting any more than I already am," I reached my hand out to him, unable to speak. He rushed out of my window and disappeared. I broke down into tears. He didn't understand. No one did.

The next morning I had to rub the sleep that had formed from the tears last night. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was only seven. Everyone else would be asleep. My phone buzzed on the cracked side table beside my bed and I reached over and checked the text. It was from an unknown number.

_I have the witch at the old church outside the tomb. We're doing this now._

I knew who it was from. She had Bonnie. I gulped and hurriedly pulled on my clothes. After twenty minutes I was ready. I crept out into the hallway and was about to go down the stairs when I stopped. I may never see Aunt Jenna or Jeremy again. I crept silently into Aunt Jenna's room and hugged her softly sleeping body. Tears began at my eyes again and I kissed her cheek. I then went into Jeremy's room. He was sprawled awkwardly on top of the duvet and was snoring softly. I stroked his floppy hair and kissed his forehead. Tears rolled off of my face onto his grey bed covers. I would miss him if this went wrong. Part of me didn't want to go. But the over-ruling part of me wanted to do what I knew was right for myself. I left the house sadly, running my hands along memories stored in photograph's and drawings from my childhood. I drove to the church slowly, taking in the sky; the birds; the houses; the trees. I needed Damon right now, to tell me it would be alright, but he didn't want to even see me. Soon I was walking from my car on the edge of the forest to the church. It was a long walk, but finally I made it and saw Katherine pacing. Bonnie was sitting with her eyes closed on a stone wall. She opened them when Katherine stopped pacing. She looked solemn. Katherine smiled and took my hand.

"Finally, you're here! Ok, let's do this," she said urgently, but before we went any further, she whipped out her phone and sent a text message.

"Who are you-" I began, but she shook her head.

"No questions," she replied, "Bonnie was kind enough to work with me last night and I taught her the spell Emily used. We're ready." I nodded flatly, as I was kind of in a trance that this was happening right now. I gulped and followed them into the old church ruins.

I lay on the cold stone floor in the old church. Katherine lay with the top of her head opposite the top of mine, so I couldn't see her. I could see that Bonnie was trying to stay strong but I could see it in her eyes that she was just as scared as I was.

"Are you…comfortable?" she asked awkwardly. I nodded weakly and she rifled in her pocket. She pulled out the piece of paper that contained the spell and placed it down beside me. She hovered her hands over my heart and began to chant. I couldn't understand her words. Soon, I began to feel strange. My head began to ache more and more and soon it was terrible. Then it became agonising. Then it became unbearable. Then, it became excruciating. I screamed and I could hear Bonnie's sobs as she continued to chant. She was unable to stop due to Katherine's compulsion. I couldn't move; my hands were literally locked at my sides. My head felt like it was about to explode. My heart beat faster and faster. I shook violently and it became harder to breathe. It was like I was being choked. I writhed and screamed, but soon I couldn't scream any more, I couldn't breathe. I tried to open my eyes but it was impossible. And then all of my pain disappeared. I felt warm and contented. I opened my eyes to see Bonnie with tears streaming down her face and shaking me. I reached out my hand to tell her it was ok but she didn't respond. I began to rise up and soon I was floating above them. I felt so at ease and relaxed; all my stress and worry had gone completely. I looked down to see my lifeless, cooling corpse laying still. I was dead. My soul was just floating in mid-air. But it didn't seem to matter.

"Witch! Hurry up! Continue the spell!" I heard Katherine order. Bonnie immediately and obediently obeyed due to the compulsion and began to chant something different. But before she began, I felt as though I was being pulled upwards, and I wanted to follow. A warmth consumed me and I closed my eyes. I wanted to let myself be taken further into the warmth.

"NOOOO!" I heard someone scream. I opened my eyes slowly to see Damon- my dear Damon – at the doorway of the church, eyes wide. He rushed to my dead body's side and doubled over as he realised I was gone.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" He cried out angrily. He began to advance on Bonnie.

"NO! Damon, if you interrupt this now there's more of a chance that you'll never see her again! Just wait!" Bonnie sobbed. He couldn't seem to move. Tears ran down his face. The pull of the warmth was counteracted by another pull. I wanted to fight this one. I struggled but it was strong. I felt as though I was being pulled apart. I was being dragged towards Katherine. As I got closer and closer I grew colder and colder. I heard Katherine begin to scream. I saw her writhe and convulse as I neared her. She tried to move but couldn't. As soon as I touched her, everything went black.

**CHAPTER 23**

My eyes flickered open. Had it all been a dream? Had it not worked? I took a deep breath of air and let it fill my lungs before exhaling again. I felt strange, and hungry. I was desperate for food. I sat up and saw Bonnie curled up in the corner of the tomb. I could hear her crying. I went to comfort her, but something beside me caught my eye. Damon was crouched over Katherine, sobbing. Why was he crying over Katherine? Wait…hadn't I been lying there before the spell…? And Katherine hadn't been wearing the same clothes as me…I looked down and saw that I was now wearing Katherine's red tee-shirt and black trousers. And then it hit me. It had WORKED. It. Had. WORKED. I gasped, and Damon looked up from my old, dead body slowly. Tears were wet on his face, and his eyes were full of hatred and malice. He glared at me and his face turned vampire.

"You bitch. Look what you've DONE!" he roared and threw himself at me. He smashed me into the broken wall and parts of it tumbled around us. I tried to talk but he had my throat. Without thinking I pushed him away and sent him flying backwards. I gasped. I was strong…? Then I realisation smacked me in the face. If I was Katherine…I was a VAMPIRE. I threw my hand to my mouth and rushed to Damon's side.

"Oh my God, Damon! Are you ok?" I went to help him up but he pushed me away angrily. He walked away and then stopped. He spun around.

"Di-did you just ask me…if I was 'ok'?" he looked confused. I nodded, unsure of what he was getting at. "…I mean, you just CARED about me? My feelings…?" he said slowly. I nodded again, still confused. "That must mean that…that it…worked…" he said to himself, gasping. "…Elena…?" he said softly, looking at me, his head cocked to one side.

"…Damon…I can't believe it worked either…And yes…it's me," I replied. He stared at me for a few moments and then his eyebrows furrowed.

"Elena may be in there somewhere, but how can I be sure that it's not you Katherine, pretending that Elena's the dominating part of the soul…" he glared at me again.

"Damon, ask me a question that only Elena would know," I asked. He thought for a moment, but all the while glaring at me.

"Where is my favourite place to escape?" he said questioningly.

"A beautiful hillside that looks down upon a valley. I don't know exactly where it was because I fell asleep for most of the journey. I still can't believe you made a picnic, as I honestly didn't think you were that kind of guy and I-" but before I could finish my sentence his lips were on mine. It was a desperate kiss at first, as if it had been too long since we had last done this. After a while, it slowed and became passionate and loving. He held my face his hands. As we broke apart he held me close.

"Elena- Oh my God, my dear Elena…" he sobbed as he squeezed me tightly. "…I thought…I'd lost you…" he breathed.


End file.
